Share This Story!

Morning Win gets you ready for the best day of sports year

Today's Big Winner: Anyone ducking out of work/class from noon-5. It's the best day of the sports year. The mythology of the NCAA Tournament was built specifically on this afternoon: Eight games running

The mythology of the NCAA tournament was built specifically on this afternoon: Eight games running throughout the work day, usually with a few ending concurrently (hopefully with close finishes), with everyone in America as universally invested in the outcome -- through their brackets -- as they are in any sporting event of the year.

It used to be you skip out on work or school -- maybe schedule a vacation (or a vasectomy). Now you can fire up your laptop browser or phone or iPad and watch on the sly at work. But, let's be honest: All those personal screens are convenient, but not nearly as fun as finding a sports bar and staring at 4 different TVs and commiserating.

The most intriguing games of the day?

Early-afternoon: Butler-Bucknell

Late-afternoon: Marquette-Davidson

Early-evening: Arizona-Belmont

Late-evening: VCU-Akron

Your bracket may be en route to busting by dinnertime tonight. You might go "8-0." The larger fun is that for the afternoon, everyone stops what they're doing to follow along.

With apologies to the Super Bowl — which, let's face it, is more about the ads than a widespread rooting interest in either team — today is the closest thing we have to a nationwide sports holiday.

*Miami Heat: 24 wins in a row, and this might be the most devastating yet -- down 27 halfway through the 3rd quarter, the Heat won anyway.

*Ed Reed: All eras must eventually end. It's bittersweet for Reed to leave Baltimore, but look for him to provide leadership for a Texans team with an eye on replicating the Ravens' success. (Meanwhile, imagine telling Bears fans five years ago that Brian Urlacher wouldn't make it to the 2013 season and still be in Chicago.)

*James Madison: Even if JMU gets waxed by Indiana on Friday, they will have one more win than 32 teams booted from the tournament by Saturday morning.

*Julius Randle: Only John Calipari's Kentucky could be ultimately humiliated one night, then the very next day land the top-ranked prep power forward, who gives UK the most talented recruiting class in the history of college basketball.

*Woods-Vonn, Cont'd: "Liger?" I prefer the suggestions from two days ago -- Woodsey or Vonnger.

*NFL RB "crown" rule change approved: I just don't understand the folks who think this is undermining the game -- it's the same macho attitude that put the league in this position with brain injuries in the first place. (Meanwhile: Good riddance to the "tuck rule," the most famous -- or infamous -- rule in the history of the NFL.)

*Obama Bracket, Last Word: He goes a wee bit long on the Big Ten (Michigan can't play defense, Mr. President), but I totally agree with his pick of Florida to the Final Four.